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beer (dict)
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BeerA beer is any variety of alcoholic beverage produced by the fermentation of starchy material derived from grains or other plant sources. The production of beer and some other alcoholic beverages is often called brewing. Historically, beer was known to the Ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians, and dates back at least as far as 4,000 BC, but these beers were absolutely different from today's Budweiser or Heineken. Because the ingredients used to make beer differ from place to place, beer characteristics (type, taste, and colour) vary widely. Ingredients Typically, beers are made from water, malted barley, hops, and fermented by yeast. The addition of other flavourings or sources of sugar is not uncommon. Because beer is composed mainly of water, the source of the water and its characteristics have an important effect on the character of the beer. Many beer styles were influenced or even determined by the characteristics of the water in the region. Among malts, barley malt is the most often and widely used owing to its high amylase enzyme content (which facilitates the breakdown of the starch into sugars) but other malted and unmalted grains are widely used, including wheat, rice, maize, oats, and rye. Hops are a comparatively recent addition to beer (see History below). They contribute a bitterness that balances the sweetness of the malt and have a mild antibiotic effect that favours the activity of brewer's yeast over less desirable organisms. Enzymes in yeast, in a process called fermentation, metabolize the sugars extracted from the grains, producing many compounds including alcohol and carbon dioxide. Dozens of strains of natural or cultured yeasts are used by brewers, roughly sorted into three kinds: ale or top-fermenting, lager or bottom fermenting, and wild yeasts. Top-fermenting means that the yeast ferments in the top of the fermenting vessel. Conversely, bottom-fermenting means that the yeast ferments in the bottom of the fermenting vessel. The scientific name for ale yeast is Saccharomyces cerevisiae, an important model organism in molecular and cell biology; Saccharomyces carlsbergensis is the scientific name for lager yeast. During the process of filtration (also called fining or clearing), some brewers add agents to beer that are not required to be published as ingredients. Since these finings may include animal extracts, vegans and others concerned with the use or consumption of animal products may wish to contact the brewer for specific details of the filtration process. Isinglass finings are a common animal-derived clarifying agent, extracted from fish. Alternatively, Irish moss is a commonly used plant-based clarifying agent. Finings form a sort protein mesh that traps particles as it settles, making subsequent filtration (if used) more effective. Most commercial beers are filtered through diatomaceous earth filters that produce a very clear (bright) beer. As filtration also removes the natural carbonation (CO2) in beer, it is added back under pressure after filtration. One imperial pint (570 ml) of beer typically contains about two to three units of alcohol, although alcohol content can vary significantly with style and brewer. History Almost any sugar or starch-containing food can naturally undergo fermentation, and so it is likely that beer-like beverages were independently invented in cultures throughout the world. In Mesopotamia, the oldest evidence of beer is on a 6000-year-old Sumerian tablet which shows people drinking a beverage through reed straws from a communal bowl. Beer is also mentioned in the Epic of Gilgamesh, and a 3900-year-old Sumerian poem honoring the brewing goddess Ninkasi contains the oldest surviving beer recipe, describing the production of beer from barley via bread. Beer became vital to all the grain-growing civilizations of classical antiquity, especially in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Beer was important to early Romans, but during Republican times wine displaced beer as the preferred alcoholic beverage, and beer became considered a beverage fit only for barbarians. Tacitus wrote disparagingly of the beer brewed by the Germanic peoples of his day. Most beers until relatively recent times were what we would now call ales. Lagers were discovered by accident in the sixteenth century when beer was stored in cool caverns for long periods; they have since largely outpaced ales in volume. (See below for the distinction.) The use of hops for bittering and preservation is a medieval addition. Hops were cultivated in France as early as the 800s. The oldest surviving written record of the use of hops in beer is in 1067 by Abbess Hildegard of Bingen: "If one intends to make beer from oats, it is prepared with hops." In 15th century England, an unhopped beer would have been known as an ale, while the use of hops would make it a beer. Hopped beer was imported to England (from the Netherlands) as early as 1400 in Winchester and hops were being planted on the island by 1428. The Brewers Company of London went so far as to state "no hops, herbs, or other like thing be put into any ale or liquore wherof ale shall be made — but only liquor (water), malt, and yeast." However, by the 16th century, "ale" had come to refer to any strong beer, and all ale and beer were hopped. Methods of brewing changed very little from that time. In 1953, New Zealander Morton W Coutts developed the technique of continuous fermentation which was the first major change to brewing since the 16th century. Morton patented his process which revolutionized the industry by reducing a four-month long brewing process to less than 24 hours http://www.roadshow.org/html/resources/scientists/coutts/article.html. His process is still used by many of the world’s major breweries today, including Guinness. In 1516, the duchy of Bavaria adopted the Reinheitsgebot, perhaps the oldest food regulation still being used. The Reinheitsgebot ordered that the ingredients of beer be restricted to water, barley, and hops. The law soon spread throughout Germany, and has since been updated to reflect modern trends in beer brewing. To this day, the Reinheitsgebot is (controversially) considered a mark of purity in beers. Etymology Of the two terms, ale is the elder in English. It comes directly from the proto-Indo European root *alu-, through Germanic *aluth-http://www.bartleby.com/61/roots/IE14.html. Beer, on the other hand, is considered to come from the Latin bibere (to drink)http://www.bartleby.com/61/69/B0156900.html. Old English sources distinguish between "ale" and "beer" but do not define what was meant by "beer" during that period, although there is some speculation that it refers to what would now be called cider (alcoholic form). The Old English form of "beer" disappeared shortly after the Norman Conquest, and the word re-entered English centuries later, in exclusive reference to hopped malt beverages. In Slavic languages, beer is called "pivo", from the verb "piti" — to drink. So, "pivo" could be translated to English as "the drink". Mythology The Finnish epic Kalevala (collected in written form in the 19th century but based on oral traditions many centuries old) devotes more lines to the origin of beer and brewing than it does to the origin of mankind. The British Drinking song "Beer, Beer Beer"http://www.mickeymulligan.com/The%20Music/songbook.htm#Beer,%20Beer,%20Beer attributes the invention of beer to the presumably fictional Charlie Mopps:
A long time ago, way back in history
When all there was to drink was nothin’ but cups of tea,
Along came a man by the name of Charlie Mopps
And he invented the wonderful drink, and he made it out of hops.
... The mythical Flemish king Gambrinus is sometimes credited with the invention of beer. Styles of beer There are many different types of beer, each of which is spoken of as belonging to a particular style. A beer's style is a label that describes the overall flavor and often the origin of a beer, according to a system that has evolved by trial and error over many centuries. Most beer styles fall into one of two large families: ale or lager, according to the type of yeast that is used in the beers fermentation process. Beers that blend the characteristics of ales and lagers are referred to as hybrids. Ale Main article: Ale An ale is any beer that is brewed using only top-fermenting yeasts, and typically at higher temperatures than lager yeast (60-75F). Because ale yeasts cannot fully ferment some sugars, they produce esters in addition to alcohol, and the result is a more flavorful beer with a slightly "flowery" or "fruity" aroma resembling, but not limited to apple, pear, pineapple, grass, hay, plum, or prune. Stylistic differences among ales are more varied than those found among lagers, and many ale styles are difficult to categorize. The major styles of ale are listed below: Lager Main article: Lager Lagers are the most commonly-consumed category of beer in the world. They are of Central European origin, taking their name from the German lagern ("to store"). They are brewed with slow-working bottom-fermenting yeasts at about 34F, and are generally further stored at a low temperature for weeks or months (hence the name), allowing them to clear and mellow. The cooler conditions inhibit the natural production of esters and other byproducts, resulting in a "crisper" tasing beer. Modern methodological methods of producing lager were pioneered by Gabriel Sedlmayr II (who perfected dark brown lagers at the Spaten brewery in Bavaria) and Anton Dreher (who began brewing a lager, probably of amber-red color, in Vienna in 1840-1841). These days, with improved fermentation control, most lager breweries use only short periods of cold storage of 1–3 weeks. Although many styles of lager exist, most of the lager produced is light in colour and high in carbonation, with a mild hop flavour and an alcohol content of 3–6% by volume. The five categories of lager are listed below (each category contains several styles): Hybrid beers Hybrid beers are brewed using a combination of ale and lager ingredients and/or techniques. They fall into one of two basic categories, depending on precisely which ingredients and techniques are used in the brewing process. Mixed beers Mixed style beers use untraditional techniques and materials instead of, or in addition to, traditional aspects of brewing. Although there is some variation among sources, mixed beers generally fall into the following categories. - Fruit beers and vegetable beers are mixed with some kind of fermentable fruit or vegetable "adjunct" during the fermentation process, providing obvious, yet harmonious, qualities.
- Herb beers and spiced beers add herbs or spices derived from roots, seeds, fruits, vegetables or flowers instead of or in addition to hops.
- Wood-aged beers are any traditional or experimental beer that has been aged for a period of time in a wooden barrel or in contact with wood.
- Smoked beers are any beer that has been "toasted" so that a smoky aroma and flavor are present.
- Specialty beers are a catch-all category used to describe any beers brewed using unusual fermentable sugars, grains and starches.
See Beer and nationality for a list of beers by the nations within which they originate, and the beer drinking and brewing practices within those countries. Related drinks Beers, and similar beverages made from raw materials other than barley, include: - hundreds of local African drinks made from millet, sorghum, and other available starch crops
- Finnish sahti
- Russian/Ukrainian kvass
- Chinese samshu
- Korean suk,
- Japanese sake, all brewed from rice
- pulque, an indigenous Mexican beer made from the fermented sap of the agave plant
- chicha, an Andean beverage made from germinated maize.
- rye beer
- Sikkim,India, Chhaang,semi fermented millet seeds packed in a bamboo pipe, hot
water poured & sipped by a bamboo pipe Commercial brands of beer See also External links - ABA — Organization dedicated to the collection of all things related to beer and breweries.
- BJCP — The Beer Judge Certification Program, primarily in the US.
- CAMRA — The Campaign for Real Ale.
- SIBA — The Society of Independent Brewers.
- SPBW — The Society for Preservation of Beers from the Wood.
- World Brewing Academy — Professional education in brewing technology, and web-based training.
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